Politics: constitutional law Second Amendment issues, poverty, minimum wage, electoral reform, problems with the 2 party system, money in politics

… and so much more. You can see this in much of my blog posts.

As a part of this process I have come up with ideas that others have as well:

International Fixed Calendar

converting to the 24 hour time and the metric system; having a world standard decimal time

religious humanism, evolutionary creationism,

progressive taxation, public funding of elections

… and many other things in my education and journey.

The Final Problem

However, the most important conclusion I have come to in the last few years is that our economic/monetary system is the prime culprit of all of the problems that humanity faces today, although I could not wrap my head around the totality of the idea or the magnitude of it. Below are a few of the facts that has led me to this conclusion:

Features of Capitalism

Here is a small list for you to consider. These are the features of Capitalism throughout the world and many of these issues are inherent to our monetary creation process. See my post Money Creation Process and the Federal Reserve for more information on this topic specifically. These are all features of the system and NOT bugs:

and over 600,000 homeless people and over 38 million living in poverty (14%)

…which shows, in short, that we have enough resources, so homelessness and poverty should not be a thing in America. Our values are just really messed up which is created by the requirements of the monetary system.

Can you name me any country which has eliminated poverty? No, you cannot. Where is the country with the lowest poverty in the world? It is about 3% and it is in one of the Nordic countries. Even they cannot end poverty. Any economic system which has any non-zero level of poverty is a complete and absolute failure.

Not Enough Money for Universally Beneficial Projects

And then, let’s consider that if we want to do something that is good for the people or the environment such as:

install sustainable energy

build or replace infrastructure

environmental preservation

create social programs

.. that the first question is always: How do we afford it? When attempting projects that really matter to Humanity and our survival there is never enough money to make this happen or that such things are not really done because of the large amounts of money required. If we just said forget the money, then the projects would get done, because we have the knowledge, the technology and the resources to get it ALL done. There is just not enough money to do it.

However, with war, which is highly profitable, there are never questions about funding. There is very little money to be made in changing the world which is a large problem with monetary systems. This is a very rotten part of the philosophical core of monetary systems.

Profit Over Society and Advancement

We live in a country where:

the works of the brilliant Nicola Tesla are buried

the Hemp Car (made of hemp and powered by a hemp based bio fuel) which was created by Henry Ford was buried by the oil companies and other industries

alternative energy technologies are railed against and thwarted politically

other patents and ideas are purchased and buried so that no one can use them

… because such technological inventions and advancements threatened the profits of big businesses.

Profit before the environment or people. Profit no matter what the cost. That is the motto for Capitalism and our monetary system. There are so many more examples of abuses caused by Capitalism, but that is enough for now to give you a picture.

Capitalism’s Systemic Corporate Corruption

Now, with this discussion I am going to assume a few things just to give Capitalism’s advocate’s the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume that everything in my posts regarding the Two Party System, Electoral Reform, and the 28th and 29th Amendments are enacted, and also that laws are passed so that:

the Maximum Income Disparity is set from the horrific 347 times which we have now down to 10 times like Japan

progressive taxation is implemented such that the Marginal Rate is set to 90%.

Hell, lets even throw in Universal Basic Income just to really make this nation great again.

This all is an amazing situation, I mean like a really dreamlike situation for the people as far as capitalism in America is concerned.

With that being assumed, it honestly does not matter what reforms we enact, it will always only be temporary. Republicans and Corporations will always work towards undermining and destroying whatever reforms are enacted because they worship greed, power, and the cancer of the “Free” Market which is anything but free.

A feature of the free market is income disparity (read The Spirit Level). With any level of income disparity there are health issues due to biopsychosocial issues. Capitalism also has recessions and bankruptcies inherent due to there not being enough money to pay back the interest in the monetary system. Why is this you ask? Because of the way the Federal Reserve, which is private corporation, works to add money into the economy. And, of course, our favorite friend – income disparity.

The list of corporate corruption is systemic and will always fester itself back in. It will never be a matter of “if” it does, it is a matter of “when“. All of the reforms in the world can and will be undone as we all very well know. It is a matter of time and then we will repeat the cycle just like we did with the Great Depression.

Some examples to give you an idea of the inevitability of the undoing of any progress made:

The Glass-Steagal Act, which was passed following the Great Depression, to prevent that horror from ever happening again – well that was undone 60 years later due bank lobbying during the Clinton administration, and the result of that was the 2008 Market Crash.

In 1973 Nixon allowed the Health Care industry to be for profit. Prior to that it was a non-profit industry.

The Consumer Financial Protection Organization thingy which was set up by Elizabeth Warren a few years ago was recently gutted or dismantled by the Trump administration.

There is also the fact that the CDC has been prevented from researching gun violence for over a decade due to powerful lobbying by the NRA.

Trump undoing many of the national parks and environmental protections

Even with the Max Income Disparity Ratio @ 9 and Progressive Taxation implemented with Marginal Rate set at an amazing 90% the corporations and the rich will always have more money than the rest of us and will always be able to afford people to lobby our representatives in whatever form they can manage. We, the middle class, do not have the time or money to do as such since we have to get the bills paid. It is not a matter of if they will get their way, it is a matter of when. And then, we have the sad fact that conservatives vote religiously and liberals do not. So, eventually Republicans and Corporations will win again and get what they want with the rest of us paying for it. It is just a matter of time. To think otherwise is naive.

Hoarding and Wasteful Production

Hoarding

Ever notice how people hoard stuff in their basements in attics (beyond the sentimental stuff) thinking that someday I may need this. I know I do. I have tools, equipment, signs, and other stuff.

Do you think that people who are considered to have a mental disorder of hoarding is just a personal problem and it is not a direct reflection of how broken our system is? They fear so much not having something that they may need and keep everything as a result.

Rarely Used Products

Ever notice how we buy things that we may only use a few times a year such as tools, or a boat, or skis? Think of how much waste there is with that and with every single household having these just sitting there for 90% of the year – unused – all of that wasted material and production? How about cars? Most cars sit around for 80% of the day doing nothing and yet most people have them and most of their useful lifespan is wasted. Yes, there are some people that use these every day and they are not who we are talking about, but even for some of them we are too. Why does everyone need one if they rarely or do not use them all of the time?

Wasteful Production and Obsolescence Requirement

Products are created with the minimum quality in order to be saleable and so that the company can make money from it which gets us various qualities of products.

Then the products are also design to only last a certain amount of time so that we have to buy another one. How wasteful is that?

Why are not products created to last for more than a lifetime? Because the companies would lose a lot of money either through having and item so expensive no one would be able to buy it or because their company does not have a constant income stream because their products are not constantly breaking and needing to be replaced.

And, then let us also consider how many different competing brands there are with the same levels of quality (or lack thereof) and many are sitting in the many stores who are competing your business. There is soooo very much waste!

The Final Answer

Introduction

A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We cannot ever expect to solve the issues that are visceral and inherent to the archaic Capitalist system using Capitalism. Why should we work so hard to control a system whose rules are predetermined to have negative and deadly outcomes when there is another far superior option available?

We change our technology when it becomes outmoded and so we should also change our social and economic systems when they have far outlived their usefulness. It is far beyond time especially with 18 million people dying each year due to the structural violence inherent in Capitalism. Can we honestly afford that price in the blood of the innocent in order to maintain the Cancer of Capitalism? Is keeping this broken system that important?

The Domestication of the Velociraptor (Commentary on Capitalism)

Your tribe has the option of continuing to unsuccessfully domesticate wild velociraptors or to try to domesticate those wolves that have been coming close to your tribal lands, eating from your garbage, and on occasion eating from your hands.

For thousands of years your tribe has been unsuccessfully trying to domesticate wild velociraptors . You capture them, cage them, and train them up. They act right for a little while, or at least you think they do, but you still see them look at you and your family like they are its next lunch. For a while they even perform as you would like: guarding your homes and flocks, allowing you to pet them, playing with your children, pulling your plows.

Eventually, it acts out tearing off you arm or clawing you. Your people capture and then retrain it. Then it eats your dog. You repeat the retraining process. Then it escapes eats most of the family next door. With a new color of harness you retrain it again with tremendous cries of support and religious services dedicated to it and its amazing potential, because this is how we have lived for thousands of years and this is what is right. You even set the raptors upon the wolves who come near and eat from your hand.

Now the raptor is roaming throughout the streets of your tribe eating whoever and whatever it wishes. Your people live in fear while espousing the wonderful traits of velociraptors: strong legs, powerful jaws, sharp claws, great hunter… even while its fangs are disgorging blood from your spouse’s neck. Your tribal members cry out “Velociraptors are amazing! In fact they already are domesticated, but maybe we need a new harness to make sure this time.”.

A tribal member cries out “Look at those tribes over there. They have wolves. They are being successfully domesticated.” Your tribe angrily rages “We already have the superior domesticated velociraptors which eats wolves! How could you even suggest? Those tribes are the enemy. They use… wolves. You are a traitor. You are not a member of our tribe.” The member points to the trail of blood left by your spouse’s lifeless body as it was dragged out by the velociraptor. You say ‘It is my spouse’s fault for not petting the raptor properly.” as you think ‘The raptor just needs a new harness of a different color.’

You go to the mass grave where your spouse and many of your neighbors are buried as the “domesticated” raptor fed upon their unsuspecting bodies as it was meant to do. Excitedly you say. ‘Yes, a harness of a different color is the answer!”

The Continuum of Capitalism

Mad Max Vs Star Trek (Economies)

Continuum of Capitalism (Oligarchy vs Communism vs Socialism)

I have written a post to explain these infographics in case these do not make sense to you: The Continuum of Capitalism. Go ahead and read it.

Resource Based Economy (RBE)

We need to evolve beyond Capitalism and use the far superior system which I shall talk about below which prevents all of the issues of Capitalism and utilizes the benefits of technological advancements. The following two movements which have come into my research can explain and provide examples much better than I can. These have defined the problem and the solution very well. My mind is blown!

Both movements state that Capitalism, which is based on scarcity and money, causes pretty much all of our global problems and their answer to this is a Resource Based Economy (RBE).

TVP:Jacque Fresco has been lecturing about societal issues and the many problems with our economic system for over 50 years. As an inventor and all around brilliant man, he has also been involved with designing the future world based on a Resource Based Economy. The manifestation of his works is what is called The Venus Project. I have known about The Venus Project for a few years now, but have not delved into it too deeply until the last few months. Once I started reading into it I read 3 of his books and the TVP website, and have also started to volunteer for them.

TZM: Peter Joseph started The Zeitgeist Movement in 2007, which I have heard of over the last few years, but did not really know anything about it until the last few months while educating myself on The Venus Project. During the process of reading about The Venus Project I found out that there was a powerful relationship between these two movements: they both talk about and advocate the same things – Capitalism is the problem and a Resource Based Economy is the answer.

As a matter of fact, this last week I have been on vacation and have watched all 3 TZM documentaries and have read his new book, ‘The New Human Rights Movement‘, and that book gave me the clear answer as to why Capitalism and money is the problem and why a Resource Based Economy is the answer. Peter Joseph’s book does that all with studies, facts, experts, end notes, glossary, and so on. Hell, the book is really worth it just for the appendix on Sustainable Energy facts. Please, seriously, read The New Human Rights Movement by Peter Joseph. This is the first book I bought for my dad who is a moderate conservative and a banker and that is how important I think this book is.

What is a Resource Based Economy (RBE)

I will go over this in short and leave the research process outlined in the next section to do the heavy lifting for your education. Here is a short video which introduces RBE from The Venus Project: Introduction to a Resource Based Economy.

Here are some defining qualities of a RBE:

claim all of the Earth’s resources as common heritage to all humanity, so all have access to them

equalize distribution and access to goods and services; private property + extensive use of shared property

most of our problems are technical in nature; through the use of science and the scientific method we can solve these issues (and not through politicians which will basically go away)

Here we exchange the following:

individual property and money

-> Universal Access

globalized distributed production process

-> Localized Production

manual labor

-> Automation and Efficiency

proprietary

-> Open Source

disconnected devices and data

-> Global Digital Feedback System (IoT)

individual government and politicians

-> Technological/Science Based Management

This all sounds great and it should, because this is how humanity should organize itself in order to bring world peace and to maximize the potential of all people. We can do this. We have the knowledge. We have the resources. We have the technology. But we do not have enough money to make this happen. Money creates the problem through artificial scarcity and prevents humanity from achieving peace and real progress.

Here is a longer video about RBE from TROM (Be prepared for a Scottish accent! )

The Suggested Research Process

For those who really want to research this, here is the process I recommend for delving into it:

Passive Process: Start with the passive process through watching the documentaries because they are something you can just watch and absorb, and will introduce you to the topics with amazing visuals.

Active Process: Then you can delve into a more active process through reading. Start with the Zeitgeist Movement first since they explain things more cleanly, then go into The Venus Project which has amazing visuals for a future with a Resources Based Economy.

Honestly, if you have to choose only one thing to do, then please read ‘The New Human Rights Movement‘. It will radically change the way you think about things. It has for me. Then, please share this post and share the book. Even if you think that this will not come to pass, everyone needs to know that there are other possibilities. The more that people are pissed off, the more change is possible. People cannot be pissed nor advocate for a change if they do not know about it. Share it. Educate the world.

The Zeitgeist Movement

Documentaries: Here is a Youtube playlist I put together for these: TZM Documentaries.